In the next school year, tuition for California State University schools is estimated to range from $25,000-45,000, according to CSU data.

Hilton wants to take on the mounting college fees with what he calls the “Califordable Act,” something he believes will make higher education easier to access and pay for. 

He also plans to freeze tuition, along with ensuring total transparency for families to see where the money they put into students is going.

On his campaign website, Hilton states he wants to implement accelerated learning programs that will allow CSU students to graduate in three years instead of four. 

“California should not be trapping students in a four-year timeline that drives up costs and delays careers,” the website says. “This plan will push for three-year degree options and accelerated pathways so students can enter the workforce sooner and avoid paying for unnecessary time in school.”

Hilton cites issues with California’s transfer programs, stating he wishes to make it easier for community college students to transfer into the university of their choice, while prioritizing students who were born and raised in the state.

In a similar vein, Hilton supports Proposition 209, a 1996 measure that made it significantly harder for CSU schools to provide financial aid and other resources to students who are part of marginalized or vulnerable groups.

In 2025, Hilton filed a complaint against incumbent governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber on their passage of Proposition 50, which would redraw congressional districts in order to combat Texas’ gerrymandering.

He claimed that the measure was unlawful because a census was not conducted beforehand, thus going against the one-man-one-vote principle, according to the complaint.

He also claimed that because of the fires in January 2025, the population in some counties Los Angeles, home to Malibu and Altadena, has decreased, thus showing an inaccurate portrayal of voter demographics and violating Californians’ civil rights.

Hilton has also added his two cents to the ongoing conversation on transgender athletes.

He aims to overturn Assembly Bill 1266, which protects the ability for transgender people to play in sports that coincide with their gender identity. 

“California has abandoned common-sense standards that ensure fairness in athletics, undermining safety and opportunity for female athletes,” his campaign website said. “Steve will establish clear, statewide rules that protect girls’ sports as a space for biological girls.”

Hilton wants to make it easier for businesses to operate in the state, citing Newsom’s claim that California is the fourth-largest economy in the world. 

He denounced the $800 minimum franchise tax, which he calls the small business tax on his campaign website, and said that small businesses were being “squeezed from every direction.”

“Because California Democrats failed to repay the state’s pandemic unemployment debt, employers here are now paying sharply higher federal FUTA taxes than businesses in most other states,” his website said. “That means higher per-employee costs through no fault of their own. Against that backdrop, charging small businesses $800 just to exist is especially punishing.”

California’s Franchise Tax Board states that the tax is required for businesses in the state to operate legally.

However, after 2020, some businesses can be exempt if it’s their first taxable year or if their tax year was 15 days or under, and no business was conducted.

Hilton is extremely family-oriented, according to his campaign website.

He wishes to provide options, specifically for prenatal care, to “move California toward life” and reduce abortions, using a tactic he has dubbed the Family First Agenda.

“Steve will expand access to prenatal care, strengthen and promote adoption, and work with faith-based and community organizations to provide real, practical support for women,” the website said. “He will also pursue policies that encourage responsibility and reduce unwanted pregnancies, while making it easier—not harder—for families to grow and thrive.”

During April’s gubernatorial debate, candidates were asked to give Governor Newsom a letter grade based on how well he is handling the homelessness epidemic in the state.

Hilton gave him an F, the lowest grade out of the six candidates present, calling the situation “barbaric.”

“It shames our state, the situation with homelessness,” Hilton said. “We have about 10% of the U.S. population, around 50% of the homeless population.”

According to the 2024 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, California harbored a total of 187,084 homeless people.

Hilton proposed his solution: a three-step plan that would criminalize camping on the streets, instead of providing drug rehabilitation and mental health services for the people who require them.

“Nothing changed, and nothing will change if you have one of these Democrats in power,” he said. “It will be more of the same.”

Hilton stated capping taxes on housing will lead to more affordability, especially for the younger generation, who he believes have been robbed of the opportunity to earn a house for themselves, like he did when he was their age. 

When asked what his housing plan was during a February debate in San Francisco, he reminisced about a time when he worked enough to afford a house in his hometown.

“I remember starting my first business and made enough money just to buy a small home back in London,” Hilton said. “That feeling of walking across the threshold, I achieved this, I earned this. We are stealing that from this generation.”

Hilton’s opinions on immigration seem to directly mirror President Trump’s, which could offer a piece of an explanation as to why he was the one to receive the endorsement.

In an interview with ABC7, Hilton stated he was a “candidate of the legal immigrant community for the legal immigrant community,” as he moved to California in 2012 and became a legal citizen nine years later. 

While in another interview with Joey Safchik for NBC7, Hilton detailed his issues with how California is handling immigration. 

“I think we’ve got to have a cooperative working relationship between the federal government and state and local government to make sure that all our laws are peacefully enforced,” Hilton said. “We can’t pick and choose which laws we like and don’t like. That’s not how it works in America. Congress passed these immigration laws. If we’re going to have laws, they need to be enforced. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

He also made sure to criticize the state’s Senate Bill 54, which prohibits local and state law enforcement from working with federal law enforcement to carry out immigration-related matters such as detentions and arrests.

As a solution, Hilton wishes to work with the Trump administration regarding this topic.

“I think that’s the kind of attitude we need to get back to, which is just calmly and efficiently and cooperatively making sure that our laws are peacefully enforced,” he said. “All of them, not just the ones that we happen to like or agree with.”

Hilton emphasized the importance of gas production within the state and decreasing reliance on other nations for fossil fuels. 

He stated California imports a significant amount of its gas and oil, which subsequently increases emissions and costs. 

California, as of May, has the most expensive gas in the country, according to AAA. 

According to his campaign website, Hilton’s solution is to encourage oil-making within the state, lowering gas prices from $6 to $3.

Over the course of his campaign, small business owner Hilton has raised a total of $12.9 million from contributions alone. 

According to Transparency USA, most of these contributions come from individuals, with the top named contributor being himself for his own campaign.

Apart from Hilton, notable contributors include Rupert Murdoch, chairman emeritus of FOX, Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and Uber Technologies, Inc., the ridesharing company.

Most notably, Hilton was endorsed in this year’s campaign by President Donald Trump, something that would usually harm a candidate in California.

However, Hilton was more than happy to accept, saying he was “honored.” 

This didn’t sit right with California’s Republican Assembly, voting against endorsing him in the upcoming primaries and instead choosing to endorse gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco.